Departmental Dismissal

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of staff in his Department and its agencies were dismissed  (a) for under-performance and  (b) in total in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: In the Northern Ireland Office, one member of staff has been dismissed for under performance and 25 members of staff in total have been dismissed from 2002 to date. The following table shows a breakdown of dismissals since 2002.
	
		
			   Number of staff dismissed 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 5 
			 2007 8 
			 2008 4 
			 2009 2

Security

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The 21st Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, published on 7 May, made clear that dissident activity in the period under review had been at its highest level since they started to report. The continuing high level of violent activity, often with the intention to kill members of the PSNI or other security force personnel, is an attempt to destroy the peace process.
	The completion of devolution will do more than anything to undermine the dissidents.
	I welcome the IMC's comments that both the UDA and UVF are beginning to address the issue of decommissioning. The Government's position is very clear. When the Secretary of State renewed the decommissioning amnesty for the final time in February, he asked the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning for a further report on progress in August. If there has not been substantial progress the decommissioning legislation will be brought to an end.

London-Scotland High-speed Rail Link

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on proposals for a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland.

Geoff Hoon: My noble Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Lord Adonis last met the Scottish Executive Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, and Transport Scotland officials on 24 April 2009, to discuss high speed rail.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: Expenditure by the Department for Transport on hospitality and entertainment in the most recent three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 648,657 
			 2007-08 737,971 
			 2008-09 694,991 
		
	
	Due to a major restructuring of accounting records, expenditure in years prior to 2006-07 cannot be provided on a comparable basis without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The Department adheres to the principles on the management of Public Money as set out in HM Treasury's handbook on Regularity and Propriety and has strict rules and cost limits on such expenditure, which in the main consists of refreshments at meetings with external stakeholders.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The Information for both  (a) and  (b) is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Railways: Expenditure

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) others incurred on railways in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: Details of historic expenditure on the railways is set out in National Rail Trends which is published by the Office of Rail Regulation. Copies are available in the Library of the House and online at
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Bluetongue Disease: Vaccination

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to stockpile vaccines against bluetongue serotypes (a) 1 and  (b) 6; what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk for such serotypes to reach domestic livestock; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Vaccines for Bluetongue serotypes 1 and 6 are not currently licensed for use in the UK. DEFRA is in discussion with potential vaccine providers, the veterinary profession and industry stakeholders about plans for 2009 and beyond.
	Meanwhile, DEFRA continues to work with other European member states for strict control measures to contain the threat of other BTV serotypes in Europe, and will continue to conduct double post-import tests on all imported animals for all Bluetongue serotypes. We also have an agreed policy for controlling incursions of any new serotypes under the existing UK-wide Bluetongue Control Strategy.
	DEFRA remains alert to the spread of these, and other serotypes, through Europe, and monitors the risk carefully. Experts at the Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright, and meteorologists at the Meteorological Office provide advice on incursion scenarios which DEFRA uses to inform and revise policy as appropriate.
	Nevertheless, the UK remains at risk from Bluetongue, whether from re-emergence of domestic disease, from wind-borne spread from the continent, or through animal imports. This risk is likely to remain for some time, depending on the success of control measures in other countries.

Swine Flu

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the World Organisation for Animal Health on the effect of strain H1N1 of influenza on the animal kingdom.

Jane Kennedy: We have been closely monitoring the statements of the World Organisation for Animal Health (the OIE) on the new variant Influenza A/H1N1. Contacts with the OIE are normally made though the offices of the European Commission. We have maintained close contact with the European Commission and other member states on this subject since the situation began.
	To date the information available from all sources indicates that infection with the new variant Influenza A/H1N1has occurred primarily in humans. The Canadian authorities reported on 2 May 2009 that this infection was also identified in a herd of pigs in Alberta, Canada. This single report from Canada indicates that this strain readily infects pigs and is of low pathogenicity to pigs. It is not possible to be certain that this virus will infect and affect other pigs in the same way, nor any other animal or bird species. To date there are no other reports of infection in pigs (or other animals). We understand that a joint OIE/FAO mission has taken place in Mexico where areas of further co-operation with Mexican authorities has been discussed. We would expect to see a report of this mission in due course.
	Apart from this information from Canada, the possible effect of this strain of H1N1 influenza on the animal kingdom is unknown.
	The OIE is collaborating with the EU, WHO, UN FAO and a network of reference laboratories and collaborating centres (including Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge) in scientific investigations on the current situation and whether this strain of H1N1 is capable of infecting other animal and bird species.
	The issues of novel influenza A/H1N1 virus will also be on the agenda at the EU member states Chief Veterinary Officer's Council meeting in Brussels on 12 May, 2009.

Mass Media

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to monitor the effects on the media industry of patterns of ownership in that industry; and what recent discussions he has had with the  (a) Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and  (b) the Office of Fair Trading on the effects of patterns of ownership on the newspaper and broadcast media industry.

Andy Burnham: We are examining the media industry as a whole, including the current ownership structures, in the lead up to the Final Digital Britain Report; which will be published in the summer. In the Interim Digital Britain Report we invited the Office of Fair Trading, with Ofcom and other interested parties, to undertake an exploratory review across the local and regional media sector and make appropriate recommendations. We expect the results of that review to be available alongside the Digital Britain Report, which is a joint project between my Department and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	In addition, Ofcom are conducting a statutory review of ownership rules and should report back to me by the end of the year.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants to train full-time for 13 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants under 24 to train full-time for  (a) 13 and  (b) 26 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Even in the current economic climate, we would expect most customers to move into work relatively quickly without the need to re-train in new skills. Our policies will continue to help them to do that to avoid the costs, both to individuals and to government, of delaying a return to work and keeping people on benefits for longer than necessary. There is therefore no current basis on which to make estimates of the costs of extending the training opportunities described to customers from the start of a claim.
	Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) recipients can train for up to 16 hours per week alongside active job search.
	They may also undertake up to two weeks of full-time training in any 12-month period, without jeopardising their benefit entitlements. Additionally, from 6 April anyone who has been unemployed more than six months can study full time for up to eight weeks on a job related training course approved by an employment adviser (operationally we do this by transferring the customer to a training allowance).
	People from disadvantaged groups, or those for whom lack of basic skills is a barrier to employment, are eligible for training support from day one of unemployment. Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers are also able to agree early access to the job-search and training support offered by the New Deal for people whose circumstances may make it particularly hard to find work.
	In addition, the Government announced last autumn that additional funding of £158 million has been made available through the European Social Fund for the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain programme for people who are newly unemployed or facing redundancy to undertake training linked to opportunities in the local labour market for up to two weeks full time and up to eight weeks part time.

Eastern Europe

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on Eastern Europe of the outcomes of the recent Eastern Partnership summit; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended the launch summit of the Eastern Partnership in Prague on 7 May 2009 where we strongly supported this EU initiative to step up our relations with our six Eastern European neighbours—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine.
	The Eastern Partnership will add value in a number of ways, including:
	enabling the EU to deepen relations with each of the partners through New Association Agreements and deep free trade agreements when partners are ready;
	setting up a framework for multilateral discussion and cooperation between member states and partners on issues including democracy, economic reform, energy and people-to-people contacts.
	The UK will continue to support the development of the Eastern Partnership. We believe that a strong partnership with the region is in the interests of the UK and can help us work effectively together to strengthen democracy, reduce the risk of conflict, and create the conditions for sustainable economic growth.

Departmental Sick Leave

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many staff in her Department and its agencies took long-term sick leave in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the  (a) total and  (b) average number of days of sick leave taken by employees in her Department and its agencies was in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Sick absence data for 2003 though to the end of March 2007 is available from sick absence reports published on the Cabinet Office website. The reports can be found on the following Cabinet Office webpage:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/sickness.aspx
	Sick absence data prior to 2002 are not available without incurring a disproportionate cost owing to several changes of HR databases in use over the last 12 years which would necessitate an investigation of individual staff records.
	Table 1 provides the number of staff who took long-term sick leave in 2008-09. Data on long-term sickness are not held for 2007-08 and cannot be gathered without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of staff who took long-term sick absence 2008-09 
			   Number 
			 Headquarters 126 
			 UK Border Agency 244 
			 Identity and Passport Service 169 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 63 
		
	
	Table 2 provides the total number of working days lost (WDL) and the average working days lost rolling year (AWDL RY) for the period from 2007 to 2009.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			   WDL  AWDL RY  WDL (FTE)  AWDL RY 
			 Headquarters 20,685 6.6 15,023 5.50 
			 Identity and Passport Service 43,917 11.7 36,831 9.59 
			 UK Border Agency 194,517 11.2 167,211 9.70 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 5,460 12.3 5,548 11.31 
			  Notes: 1. 2007-08 data have been taken from sickness data produced for the permanent secretary management group. 2. 2008-09 data have been answered using DataView, the single source for all Home Office HR data. DataView uses data extracted as soon as possible after the last day of the calendar month from the Home Office's four employee records systems: Adelphi for headquarters and the UK Border Agency (UKBA); Snowdrop for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS); IRIS for the Criminal Records Bureau; and ePayFact for pay and pensions purposes. UKVisas (previously FCO) and HMRC Detection staff who have transferred to UKBA will be added during 2009-10 as part of an ongoing improvement programme.  Source: The March 2009 extract has been used to answer this parliamentary question.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions  (a) evidence,  (b) findings and  (c) recommendations from investigations from the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been included in police performance and conduct systems; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Vernon Coaker: The IPCC's Learning the Lessons Committee, which includes representatives from the Home Office, Association of Police Authorities, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the National Police Improvement Agency issues regular bulletins covering lessons learnt from IPCC investigations which are fed into the police service to improve its policies and practices. The IPCC is also developing a performance framework to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the police complaints system.
	A copy of the hon. Member's question has been sent to the IPCC and they will also respond to the hon. Member direct. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the Library.

Armed Forces: Empty Property

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of  (a) service family accommodation and  (b) single living accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas are void properties.

Kevan Jones: The table provided shows the number of void service family accommodation properties held in the UK and Overseas as at 1 May 2009:
	
		
			Total void SFA 
			  Location  Total number of SFA  Number  Percentage 
			 UK 49,884 8,390 17 
			 Overseas and Europe 15,430 3,062 20 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide the number of void single living accommodation as the information is currently being verified.
	Service accommodation is held void for various reasons such as it is awaiting moves of service personnel, improvement or modernisation, demolition or disposal. The Department is making vigorous efforts to reduce the percentage of voids, but there will always need to be a management margin to allow properties to be available for eligible service personnel when required.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing psychometric testing for the armed forces in order  (a) to assess each serviceman or woman's vulnerability to psychological wounding from exposure to combat and  (b) to screen servicemen after combat operations for changes in their personality which may be attributed to psychological wounding.

Kevan Jones: Research undertaken at the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) has produced evidence which strongly suggests that such processes are ineffective and may indeed be counter-productive.
	Recent research is summarised in the KCMHR "Ten Year Report" published in 2006 by the University of London and covering a decade's worth of research concerning the health of UK service personnel and veterans. This explains that selecting out individuals who might be at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties prior to deployment is a flawed strategy because, whether one uses clinical interviews or questionnaire-based methods, it is impossible to distinguish reliably between those who will go on to experience psychological difficulties and those who will not.
	Furthermore there is evidence of a detrimental effect on those screened out, even though they may, in reality, be suitable for deployment.
	Similarly, although mental health screening after deployment is practiced by other countries, the Department is not aware of any evidence which demonstrates that formal mental health interviews or the use of questionnaires on return from deployment are able to distinguish effectively between those who might benefit from further intervention and those who might not. The MOD does, however, strongly support the notion that the psychological welfare of troops is primarily a chain of command responsibility. We place great emphasis on ensuring that those in positions of command remain vigilant for signs of any mental health difficulties and support these aims through our post-operational stress management protocols which include, but are not limited to, the use of decompression and of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM).
	The MOD also funds six mental health pilot projects for veterans, has dedicated psychiatric nurses in Afghanistan and funds the Medical Assessment Programme at St Thomas Hospital.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many  (a) Mastiff and  (b) Ridgeback armoured vehicles have been (i) ordered for and (ii) delivered to UK Land Command;
	(2)  when he expects the order for the additional tranche of Mastiff vehicles announced by the Prime Minister on 7 October 2007 to be completed.

Quentin Davies: The first tranche of 108 Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicles (PPVs) were delivered to HQ Land Forces by the end of 2007. A second tranche of 174 Mastiff PPVs have been ordered and to date 82 have been issued to HQ Land Forces. It is anticipated that this order will be completed by the end of September 2009.
	In addition, 24 Mastiff PPVs have been ordered as part of the Talisman project. It is currently planned that they will be delivered by the end of this year.
	157 Ridgback Urban Protected Patrol Vehicles have been ordered and to date, 37 have been issued to HQ Land Forces.

Defence Medical Services: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual strength of each (i) service and (ii) trade of the Defence Medical Services is.

Kevan Jones: Manning statistics for the Defence Medical Services (DMS) are updated twice a year, in April and October. The April 2009 data is currently being collated, but the following table summarises the October 2008 figures. This table provides the required manning level of the DMS, the additional requirement for a manning and training margin (MTM), and the total number of personnel, which has also been split between the trained strength and those in training.
	
		
			   Requirement  MTM( l)  Personnel/ trained strength  Personnel in training( 2)  Personnel total 
			 Royal Navy 1,311 211 1,328 248 1,576 
			 Army 4,521 437 3,779 591 4,370 
			 Royal Air Force 1,743 155 1583 75 1,658 
			 Tri-service total 7,575 803 6,690 914 7,604 
			 (1) The MTM includes a margin of trained personnel to take account of non-effective trained personnel. Non effective personnel are those who are trained but on terminal leave, long term sickness or mid career training. It also includes personnel who are undergoing speciality training i.e. holding some qualifications but not yet fully accredited. Our manning figures do not separate these elements, and so the table simply details the total requirement and the two constituent groups of personnel into the categories trained and 'in training'. (2) "Personnel in training" does not include personnel who are already trained in a medical speciality and who are in career directed professional training. 
		
	
	Tables providing the figures for each medical speciality, that show the requirement and the number of trained personnel, but not personnel in training, in each medical and dental personnel division of the armed forces as at October 2008, have been placed in the Library of the House.

Ex-servicemen: Vocational Guidance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the Careers Transition Partnership scheme in each year since 1998.

Kevan Jones: I will write to the hon. Member.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British personnel based in Kuwait will receive  (a) the Operation Telic Medal and  (b) a council tax rebate; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Under the current arrangements armed forces personnel may only receive the Iraq Medal for service on the land and in the airspace of Iraq, as well as the waters of the Northern Gulf, Iraqi territorial seas and Iraqi internal waters. However, in common with all campaign medals the situation is kept under constant review, and continues to take into account the ongoing risks and rigours of the operations in which British troops are involved.
	As announced on 7 September 2007, council tax relief is paid to Service personnel serving in Camp Buehring who are involved in Operation TELIC (roulement) 11. Payment has been made since 1 April 2008 and, in line with the introduction of Operational Allowance payment for these personnel, it was backdated to 1 November 2007.

Kenley Common

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with  (a) Croydon Council,  (b) Tonbridge District Council,  (c) the City of London and  (d) users of Kenley Common on his Department's plans to erect temporary fencing at the Common.

Kevan Jones: The Department's proposal for the erection of temporary safety barriers around Kenley airfield was raised with Croydon council and the Corporation of London at a safety working group meeting on 9 December 2008.
	In view of ongoing safety concerns and with the full endorsement of the Health and Safety Executive, the Department's intent to proceed with the erection of the safety barriers at the points from which gliders are launched was notified to Croydon council on 1 April 2009.
	No discussions have been held with Tandridge district council since the planned location for the barriers does not fall within their boundaries.
	No separate discussions have been held with users of Kenley Common.

Navy: Military Bases

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has for the continued functioning of the  (a) frigate fleet and  (b) submarine flotilla in the event of a naval base being put out of action following the implementation of the decision to allocate each type of warship to a single naval base.

Bob Ainsworth: Analysis conducted during the Naval Base Review confirmed a degree of excess capacity at the three Naval Bases; Devonport, Faslane and Portsmouth. This excess capacity deliberately provides a level of resilience for the Royal Navy Fleet which still exists today.
	Decisions taken under the Maritime Change Programme, including the ongoing optimisation work, which I announced in the House on 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 16WS do not impact upon that resilience. The Ministry of Defence is, therefore, confident that sufficient contingency exists across the three Naval Bases.

Navy: Telecommunications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Naval Extremely High/Super High Frequency Communications Terminals programme from his Department's  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL was on 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007, (viii) 2008 and (ix) 2009.

Quentin Davies: Prior to 31 March 2004 the information is not held in the format requested, and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For the period 31 March 2004 to 31 March 20081 refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1144W.
	For 31 March 2009, the information requested is shown in the following table. The figures include the cost of the assessment, demonstration and manufacture phases.
	
		
			   31 March 2009 (£ million) 
			 Direct resource DEL 50 
			 Indirect resource DEL 13 
			 Capital DEL 123 
			 Total 186

Somalia: Piracy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what NATO assets will be used for Operation Atlanta under the  (a) 2003 Berlin Plus arrangements and  (b) 2002 NATO-EU Declaration on the European Security and Defence Policy; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no plans to use NATO assets for Operation ATALANTA.
	Under the terms of the 2002 NATO-EU Declaration on ESDP, the EU has briefed non-EU European members of NATO on the operation.

River Severn: Tidal Power

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which seminars and public events on tidal power in the Severn he and his officials  (a) have attended since 26 January 2009 and  (b) propose to attend before the end of the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study Consultation.

Mike O'Brien: The first Severn tidal power consultation has now closed. Since the launch of the consultation—which was attended by some 150 stakeholders—I have chaired several Severn tidal power parliamentary forums (for MPs, Lords, Assembly Members, and MEPs); a regional forum with senior representatives of local authorities, local business and environmental organisations; and launched the Severn Embryonic Technologies Scheme, to fund the development of new technology proposals. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State replied to the private Members debate on the feasibility study in Westminster Hall.
	DECC officials have (in addition to a large number of bilateral meetings with stakeholders) attended a wide variety of stakeholder and public meetings including those listed:
	A meeting of the Steering Group for the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Severn tidal power.
	Multiple meetings with local strategic partnerships, council members and officials.
	Two public meetings (in Brean and Burnham-on-Sea) organised by the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory).
	Two public forums on tidal energy (in Bristol and Cardiff) organised by the Royal Society of Arts.
	A public meeting in Penarth organised by Chris Franks AM and Leanne Wood AM.
	A public meeting organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in Bristol.
	National Council of Women Seminar 2009 at Minsterworth, Gloucester.
	Frampton on Severn Sailing Club meeting.
	The South West TUC Conference.
	The Institute of Civil Engineers Severn Tidal Energy Conference.
	The BERR and DECC Business Climate Change and Energy Group (for energy companies and users).
	Renewable Energy Association Ocean Energy Group.
	Citi Institutional Investors Group.
	Several meetings with regional port authorities.
	The Department's partners in the feasibility study (including Welsh Assembly Government, the South West Regional Development Agency, and Government Office South West) and consultants to the feasibility study have also attended a number of meetings and events to provide information about the study and consultation.

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the disturbance at HMP Ashwell on 11 April 2009 arising from  (a) damage to prison property,  (b) deploying additional Prison Service staff and other emergency services personnel to deal with the disturbance,  (c) transporting prisoners to other prisons and  (d) conducting an investigation into the incident.

David Hanson: The NOMS/Prison Service investigation which is due to be completed by 29 May will estimate the cost to NOMS of resolving the disturbance. I will make the findings of the investigation and our conclusions on it available to the House in due course.
	The investigation will not cover damage to property as decisions which will determine the costs of damage have yet to be made, and are not within the scope of the investigation. I will write to the hon. Member when known.
	The cost of the other emergency services is a matter for the individual emergency services.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average price was of a property sold in each year since 1995, expressed in 2009 prices.

Michael Wills: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Annual average price  Annual average price at Q1 2009 prices 
			 1995 68,079 96,297 
			 1996 71,519 98,777 
			 1997 78,226 104,749 
			 1998 84,669 109,617 
			 1999 94,846 120,938 
			 2000 108,164 133,950 
			 2001 119,275 145,153 
			 2002 138,200 165,417 
			 2003 156,154 181,649 
			 2004 178,542 201,685 
			 2005 189,580 208,241 
			 2006 203,708 216,870 
			 2007 219,408 223,975 
			 2008 216,884 212,946 
			  Note: The third column of the table shows the average price of properties sold in each year, adjusted to Q1 (January-March) 2009 prices using the all-item non-seasonally adjusted retail prices index (RPI). The RPI has been used because it includes price changes to housing-related items such as mortgage interest payments, depreciation, council tax, dwelling insurance and ground rent, which are not included in the consumer price index.

Prisons: Barking and Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  by what mechanisms the criteria for bids for  (a) construction and  (b) operation of the proposed prison on the Beam Park West site will be published; and when he expects such criteria to be published;
	(2)  what timetable he has established for private contractors to bid for the operating contract for Beam Park West Prison.

Jack Straw: The tender criteria for Beam Park West will be published via an invitation to tender (ITT), and in line with the OJEU compliant EU procurement directives, during the main procurement later this year.
	The timetable for bidder engagement is expected to commence at some stage this year with the publication of the relevant OJEU notice.

Prisons: Violence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many violent incidents  (a) requiring at least one of the parties to attend hospital and  (b) resulting in a death there have been in prisons in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Every homicide in prison custody is a tragedy. Reducing violence, whatever the level of severity, in prisons is a priority. We are committed to working towards a zero tolerance approach to prison violence. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to both the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety.
	Data is not held centrally on the numbers attending hospital as a result of violent incidents. However, data is provided in the following table on assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatients.
	
		
			  Apparent homicides and assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatient. 
			  Measure  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  (a) Assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatient(1) 235 263 235 210 235 
			  (b) Apparent homicides(2) 2 3 0 2 3 
			 (1) Assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as an inpatient are as reported on IRS at 31 March 2009. (2) Numbers of apparent homicides are subject to confirmation at inquest and should be interpreted as provisional. 
		
	
	Attendance at hospital is dependent, in part, on the availability of health care facilities within a prison. A large local prison with inpatient facilities may well care for injured prisoners "in house". A prison without such facilities would send the prisoner to an outside hospital.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what office facilities are provided for the exclusive use of each of the trade unions recognised by his Department in  (a) departmental premises and  (b) the premises of his Department's executive agencies; and what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09.

Jack Straw: In departmental premises the Departmental Trade Union Side are currently provided with an office for their use in the MOJ headquarters building. The value of this facility is estimated at £40,000 p.a.
	In relation to the Department's Executive Agencies; in Her Majesty's Prison Service the POA are provided with an office for their sole use in all establishments. PCS and Prospect share an office and PGA have sole use of an office within the National Offender Management Service Headquarters building in London, the value of which facility is approximately £50,000.00 per annum.
	In addition and in all other Executive Agencies, trade unions are provided with varying type of facilities although none is for their exclusive use.
	Due to the variability of such provision it is not possible to provide a notional monetary value.

Youth Custody

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children from  (a) London and  (b) the South East outside London the Youth Justice Board sent to (i) secure children's homes and (ii) secure training centres in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The following table sets out how many young people from London and the South East region have been remanded in, or sentenced to, custody by the courts and subsequently placed by the Youth Justice Board in secure training centres or secure children's homes in the period, 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009.
	
		
			  Region  S ecure  children's home  S ecure  training centre  Total 
			 London 77 293 370 
			 South East 60 125 185 
			 Total 137 418 555 
		
	
	These data have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative computer systems.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivan Lewis: I visited eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 26 to 29 April 2009 and was made acutely aware of the alarming humanitarian situation. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA), FDLR (ex-FAR Interhamwe) and other rebel groups, continue to prey on the civilian population, provoking displacement and untold suffering. The United Nations (UN) estimates some 1.7 million are displaced with over 300,000 newly displaced in 2009. The humanitarian community is currently bracing itself for the humanitarian consequences of the joint FARDC and MONUC military operation against the FDLR (Operation Kimia II) in South Kivu and has, as a result, developed contingency plans. In meetings with MONUC, I pressed upon MONUC the importance of ensuring adequate steps are taken to mitigate the impact of military operations on civilians and to work closely with the humanitarian community.
	The well-established humanitarian response to the ongoing crisis in eastern DRC is able to cope with current levels of displacement and existing need. DFID established Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in 2005, run by UNICEF with NGO partners, to provide water and sanitation, shelter, non-food items and education for conflict affected populations. Other DFID partners, including Oxfam, IRC, MERLIN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provide food, nutrition and health assistance. However, DFID is constantly assessing the situation and is ready to provide additional support if necessary.

Food Supply

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress in ensuring global food security.

Michael Foster: Global food price rises at the end of 2007 and throughout 2008 have hit the poorest people in developing countries the hardest. While international prices for most food commodities have come down, they remain high, especially at country level, and over 900 million people cannot meet their food needs. Globally the number of hungry people is forecast to top one billion this year. Food security is now threatened by the global economic crisis. The problem continues not just because prices remain high in many developing countries, but also because recession is reducing people's incomes.
	The UK has led the international response and has called for all donors, international organisations, private sector and civil society to double efforts to tackle global hunger and poverty. UK has announced a package of assistance worth over £908 million to tackle high food prices. UK Prime Minister has emphasised it would be wrong to reduce support for poor countries at this time.
	More information and analysis of progress towards meeting the MDG 1 Hunger target and what the UK is doing to achieve this target is available in the DFID Hunger Factsheet.

Overseas Aid

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: Global food price rises at the end of 2007 and throughout 2008 have hit the poorest people in developing countries the hardest. Higher food prices have triggered an increase in hunger worldwide—last year 75 million more people have been pushed into hunger—making the task of reaching the MDG 1 target more difficult. Furthermore in many developing countries recession is reducing peoples' income, making it harder to buy food. While international prices for most food commodities have come down, they remain high, especially at country level, and over 900 million people cannot meet their food needs. However, hunger has been reduced in Eastern and South East Asia and these regions, along with Latin America and Caribbean, are expected to meet the target.
	More information and analysis of progress towards meeting the MDG 1 Hunger target and what the UK is doing to achieve this target is available in the "DFID Hunger Factsheet".

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much  (a) financial aid and  (b) building material his Department has provided to Gaza since November 2008; and how much such building material has been delivered into Gaza to date.

Michael Foster: Following the Gaza conflict which started in December 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged £46.8 million to assist with humanitarian relief and early recovery activities. £19.8 million has already, been allocated to United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organisations. Since 2008, DFID has also funded the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide schooling to 200,00 children in Gaza and healthcare to the 70 per cent. of Gazans who are refugees. DFID also provides funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to deliver essential services in Gaza.
	DFID has not directly provided building materials in Gaza. However, a number of the projects we fund are helping to provide shelter, and rehabilitate schools and basic water infrastructure. Further details on these projects are available on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/News-Stories/2009/DFID-UK-funding-to-2009-Gaza-Crisis/
	We do not know exactly how much building material has been allowed into Gaza to date. Severe restrictions remain on the import of water and sanitation materials, cement and other reconstruction materials. Meaningful recovery and reconstruction of houses and infrastructure will be very difficult while these remain in place.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when all colposcopy patients will be able to choose between local and general anaesthesia for their treatments;
	(2)  which NHS hospitals have sufficient facilities to treat all colposcopy patients receiving  (a) punch biopsy,  (b) large-loop excision of the transformation zone and  (c) other cervical treatments under local or general anaesthetic; and which such hospitals advertise both forms of anaesthesia in their patient literature.

Ann Keen: Data on the number and type of facilities within national health service hospitals providing colposcopy punch biopsy, large-loop excision of the transformation zone and other cervical treatments under local and general anaesthetic is not held centrally.
	The choice between the most appropriate types of anaesthesia to use for such procedures is a clinical one and should be reached following discussion between the patient and the clinician, taking into account the patient's wishes and which is the most clinically appropriate type of anaesthesia for the individual patient.

General Practitioners: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Pre-Budget Report of November 2008, Cm 7484, what progress has been made in allocating the £100 million capital spending to upgrade GP surgeries advanced to 2009-10.

Ben Bradshaw: The identification of suitable practices that require upgrading of accommodation to take additional general practitioner (GP) training places is under way. The initiative will involve close partnership working between strategic health authorities, their deanery GP directors and primary care trusts.

Health Professions: Regulation

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made through the revalidation process in identifying the measures required to regulate  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses,  (c) pharmacists,  (d) dentists and  (e) other health professionals.

Ben Bradshaw: Following publication of the White Paper, "Trust Assurance and Safety, the regulation of health professionals in the 21(st) Century" in 2007, seven working groups were established to develop professional regulation reforms. Two groups worked on medical and non-medical revalidation. Both their reports have now been published and can be downloaded from the Department's website. Copies have been placed in the Library. The health care regulators are currently taking forward the proposals for revalidation.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_J386430
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_091111

Health Professions: Regulation

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account is taken of  (a) patient safety,  (b) public protection and  (c) standards of public service delivery in the framework for the revalidation of health professionals.

Ben Bradshaw: The process of revalidation for health professionals sits within the wider reforms to professional regulation as set out in the White Paper, "Trust, Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21(st) Century".
	Revalidation is being built on the White Paper principles of public protection, patient safety and quality of care, with the recognition that revalidation is as much about sustaining, improving and assuring the professional standards of the overwhelming majority of health professionals as it is about identifying and addressing poor practice or bad behaviour.
	Revalidation will provide a positive affirmation that practitioners meet the standards of competence, ethics, conduct, and are up to date and fit to practise.

Health Services: East of England

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the standard of out-of-hours primary care provision in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In September 2008 the independent regulator, the Healthcare Commission, published its review of Urgent and Emergency Care which rated the Peterborough primary care trust (PCT) area as 3 or "better performing" and the Cambridgeshire PCT area as 4 or "best performing", of which performance on out-of-hours services contributed around 25 per cent. to this score.
	More widely, the review found that the national health service has made significant progress on performance against the out-of-hours National Quality Requirements for the delivery of out-of-hours services compared to a similar survey carried out by the National Audit Office in 2005. In addition, the overall results of the review were positive, with 60 per cent. of PCTs scored as "better" or "best performing" and 82 per cent. rated as at least "fair performing".
	PCTs have a responsibility to ensure they provide, or secure provision of a high quality, sustainable service for their local population. Where a provider is failing to meet the National Quality Requirements, PCTs, as commissioners of the service, and strategic health authorities must act to support out-of-hours providers to improve their performance. It is vital that if the local NHS has concerns about the quality of out-of-hours provision in its area, it takes urgent and robust action to improve services.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 834-5W, on hospitals: infectious diseases, if he will make it his policy to conduct research into the effectiveness of patient-centred technologies in preventing healthcare associated infections.

Ann Keen: If patient-centred technologies are taken to mean products selected and provided by patients it is not our policy to conduct research into the effectiveness of patient-centred technologies as we are not aware of any evidence that these products offer advantages over materials supplied to patients by the national health service. Our strategy 'Clean Safe Care' draws together the measures required to control infections. Generally, normal soap and toiletries are adequate for patients' personal hygiene during their hospital stay. If decolonisation of a patient is necessary, hospitals will provide specialist soap and shampoo.
	However, the Department is continually investigating the potential impact new and novel technologies may have in preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs), including the development of prototypes of innovative designs for existing patient-centred hospital furniture and equipment, aimed at influencing patient and staff behaviour to help prevent HCAIs. The Department has established the HCAI technology innovation programme that provides support to emerging and established technologies.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for Sheffield residents for admissions to hospital for treatment following GP referral  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available, by speciality.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. Referral to treatment data is only available from January 2007 onwards. The following table shows the median waiting times for completed patient pathways for admitted patients in the Sheffield Primary Care Trust area, from January 2007 to February 2009.
	
		
			  Treatment f unction  January 2007  February 2009 
			 General surgery 19.0 7.3 
			 Urology 17.8 8.8 
			 Trauma and orthopaedics 31.7 10.9 
			 Ear, nose and throat 32.0 9.0 
			 Ophthalmology 23.7 7.3 
			 Oral surgery 23.0 10.0 
			 Neurosurgery n/a 9.8 
			 Plastic surgery 16.8 8.0 
			 Cardiothoracic surgery n/a 8.8 
			 General medicine n/a n/a 
			 Gastroenterology 7.8 1.9 
			 Cardiology 16.0 8.8 
			 Dermatology 11.5 10.0 
			 Thoracic medicine n/a n/a 
			 Neurology n/a n/a 
			 Rheumatology n/a n/a 
			 Geriatric medicine n/a n/a 
			 Gynaecology 25.0 6.0 
			 Other 16.4 6.6 
			 Total 21.9 7.8 
			  Note: Where there were fewer than 20 completed pathways for the given treatment function, a median has not been calculated. These cells have been marked with a value of not applicable (n/a). Data for January 2007 is given on an unadjusted basis, whereas data for February is given on an adjusted basis.

NHS: Public Participation

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent additional financial support his Department has provided to Staffordshire local involvement network (LINk); whether his Department has plans for a national publicity campaign to promote awareness of LINks; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department has no current plans to allocate additional funding to Staffordshire local involvement network (LINk) although we are working to help the responsible local organisations to provide support for the LINk that is consistent with local authorities' duties in relation to LINks.
	A Written ministerial statement was issued on Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust on 30 April in response to the reports of the independent reviews undertaken by Professor Sir George Alberti and Dr. David Colin-Thomé. The statement sets out a commitment to give extra support to all LINks including a 'how to be heard' guide for the public, and a national publicity campaign to promote awareness of the role of LINks in influencing local decision making around national health service services.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 741W, on apprentices, how many people undertaking apprenticeship training as part of the Government Skills National Apprenticeship Pathfinder Scheme in 2008-09 are  (a) new employees hired as apprentices and  (b) existing employees converting to apprenticeships.

Si�n Simon: The Government Skills National Apprenticeship Pathfinder scheme brought 16 Government Departments together to increase the numbers of apprenticeships in the civil service starting in 2008-09. The original target of 500 apprenticeship starts has been more than doubled, with 1,395 starts to the period ending 31 March 2009.
	Civil servant numbers have declined since 2004, so the Pathfinder scheme was designed to primarily focus on offering high quality apprenticeships to existing members of staff. It is a standard route for apprentices to be in a job before they begin their apprenticeship, in both the public and private sector. For 2008-09 the number of apprentices entering the Pathfinder scheme at the point of recruitment has been 30.
	Many of those undertaking apprenticeships work in operational delivery roles in the Department for Work and Pensions, the UK Borders Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the Driving Standards Agency and the Ministry of Justice.
	Government Skills is now working with Departments to help embed apprenticeships in their recruitment processes.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many colleges in Greater London are awaiting a decision on an application for approval of schemes under the Building Colleges for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for further education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the LSC acting chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Rotherham College of Arts and Technology

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills by what date he expects Rotherham College of Arts and Technology to have been allocated funding for its building programme.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for Further Education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Eco-towns

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 471W, on eco-towns, which external advisers conducted the eco-towns Financial Viability Study; and at what cost to the public purse.

Margaret Beckett: The assessments undertaken in the Financial Viability Study of the Eco-towns Programme were carried out by a team led by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). The team included: DTZ; Buro Happold; Davis Langdon: and DentonWildeSapte. Further details about the work carried out and our external advisors are set out in section 1.3 and Appendix A of the Study, which is available on my Department's website.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/1165892.pdf
	As set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 471W, we have spent 720,800 on stage one of this contract, and are in the process of completing stage two.

Fire Services: Medals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the merits of providing funding for the award of fire service veterans badges; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Department has no plans to provide or fund a veterans badge for fire fighters. Some members of the National Fire services may be eligible for the Defence Medal. I understand that the British Fire Services Association designed and issued a lapel badge for veterans in the fire service, these are not funded by this Department.

First Time Buyers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 136-7W, on housing: sales, how many homes she expects to be sold under the First-Time Buyers Initiative in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010.

Iain Wright: The First Time Buyers' initiative is a demand led programme and therefore we have not made an estimate.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on the availability of local search information provided for home information packs of recent unitary local government restructuring.

Margaret Beckett: No such specific assessment has been made. However, we understand from information collected by the Department that the nine new unitary authorities are providing access to property search information following the implementation of the Local Authorities (England)(Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008.

Homes and Communities Agency: Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1505W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, on which projects the Homes and Communities Agency spent 54,000 on branding, broken down by category of expenditure.

Margaret Beckett: 54,000 was spent on the development of the HCA brand, delivered through the Central Office of Information.
	The expenditure can be broken down as follows:
	
		
			   000 
			 Stationery design for HCA and Milton Keynes Partnership 23 
			 Brand guidelines development and CD production 20 
			 Regional factsheet template 3 
			 HCA brand induction flyer for staff 3 
			 Design and production of HCA cardboard folders 5 
			 Total(1) 54 
			 (1) All costs exclude VAT.

Homes and Communities Agency: Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1505W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, on what categories of stationery items  (a) the Homes and Communities Agency spent 99,000 and  (b) the Tenant Services Authority spent 17,000.

Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority's accounting systems cannot disaggregate expenditure by various categories of stationery item.
	This information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Land Use: Public Sector

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of minutes of each meeting of the surplus public sector land strategy group in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The Surplus Public Sector Strategy Group was a short-life group established to provide strategic guidance on the surplus public sector land programme. The Strategy Group met four times and considered commercially sensitive material and advised on the formulation and development of Government policy. On that basis we do not think it appropriate to place the minutes in the Library.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 4 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1293W, on mortgages: Government assistance, what criteria her Department uses to define an ordinary hard-working household.

Margaret Beckett: The eligibility criteria for Homeowners Mortgage Support are designed to ensure that this scheme helps hard-working households who are having difficulties with their mortgage repayments to avoid the threat of repossession.
	The eligibility criteria include households demonstrating that they have had a temporary loss of income from employment or self-employment of a scale which affects the household's ability to make full mortgage payments, but which is not expected to be a permanent loss of income. Households must also have no savings in
	excess of 16,000. Full eligibility criteria are available at
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Keepingyourhomeevictionsandhomelessness/Mortgagesandrepossessions/DG_177639

Children: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of registered child minders were  (a) male and  (b) female in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information about the numbers and proportions of male and female staff in the child care and early years providers workforce. Table 1 shows the numbers of childminders that were male and female in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Data on numbers of childminders of each sex is not available prior to 2005, although the data on the proportions are available for 2003. Table 2 shows the proportions of childminders that were male and female in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. No data is available on proportions or numbers prior to 2003.
	
		
			  Table 1: Numbers of male and female childminders in the child care and early years providers workforce 
			   Male  Female 
			 2005 1,000 56,700 
			 2006 1,200 56,700 
			 2007 600 59,200 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportions of male and female childminders in the child care and early years providers workforce 
			  Percentage 
			   Male  Female 
			 2003 1 99 
			 2005 2 98 
			 2006 2 98 
			 2007 1 99